NHS staff get Andy to the wedding on time

NHS Lanarkshire has been praised for making sure a Bellshill bride’s father was able to give her away just days after he had a heart attack.

Nicola Rankin thanked staff at Monklands and Hairmyres hospitals for getting her dad Andy Reilly back on his feet in time for the wedding, only eight days after his heart trouble developed.

Nicola thought there was no way Andy (57) would be able to make her big day and was ready to cancel the wedding.

But, expert care from hospital staff ensured Andy recovered in time to see Nicola marry William Rankin at the Bentley Hotel, Motherwell.

Nicola, who runs a hairdressing salon in Baillieston with her mum Jean, said: “I can’t thank the hospital staff enough for what they did. They all knew dad had a wedding to attend and I’m sure that spurred them on to even greater heights as they worked to get him better.

“If he hadn’t managed to get to the wedding, I wouldn’t have been able to go through with it and I would have had to cancel.

“Dad took ill at home and was treated wonderfully by the ambulance crew and then at Monklands and Hairmyres.”

Andy had an operation at Hairmyres to put in stents – small tubes to widen coronary arteries – and was discharged in time to make the wedding.

Nicola said: “There wasn’t a dry eye among the 160 guests at the reception when we shared our father-daughter dance.

“He’s watching his diet now so he had to steer clear of the wedding cake.”

Andy, who works a taxi driver, also paid tribute to the hospital teams for helping him get to his daughter’s big day.

He said: “The staff were brilliant and I can’t thank them enough for making sure I saw my daughter getting married.”